Adventures of Spore Kids 4: Keiko's Cookies
by Jlgjt
Summary: Fourth and for the moment, last story in the Adventures of the Spore Kids series. This one covers Keiko, brown haired girl who wanted to be a baker and got a YukimiSnowBotamon for a partner. Enjoy!


**Adventures of the Spore Kids**

**Episode #4: Keiko's Cookies**

Author's Notes: This story is the fourth (and last, for the moment) story covering the former Spore Kids. This one covers Keiko, the light-brown haired girl who's dream was to be a baker and got a Yukimi(Snow)Botamon for a partner. End song is based on "Amazing Love/You Are My King", written by Billy James Foote. Enjoy!

Date: 1/25/2004

Time: 2:00 pm

Place: A bakery in Odiaba's commercial district...

Keiko jumped out of the car, picking up her partner and waving good-bye to her mother as she entered the bakery.

For the better part of the month, Keiko had kept in the background of what was happening. Like some of the other girls, she was more sensitive than some of the other kids about recalling what happened during the horrible New Year's Eve battle, and therefore was more reluctant to participate in the meetings with the other kids. Nevertheless, she saw the change in Noriko, Hiroshi and now Takashi after each one found their mentor, and she wanted to believe that the same thing could happen to her, particularly as today's theme was baking, the very thing she had dreamed about.

She smirked as she looked down at her Digimon. She wondered why they were at such a public place, and she was sure that there would be people staring at her. She sighed; she didn't want to jam her partner inside her coat but didn't want to keep it in plain sight either. Realizing she couldn't do the former, she reluctantly pressed further into the bakery, trying to look casual but cheeks glowing red at the staring eyes and murmurs of interest around her.

She was relieved when one of the older kids opened a door which allowed her to slip into a backroom where the other kids had already gathered. In the room, she could see a bunch of tables all pushed together, with folding chairs set up around the outside of the tables and a raised section of floor on which sat a cart with a TV/VCR combo unit on it. It looked to her like some kind of orientation or training room, which the older kids had somehow gotten access to.

Keiko quickly recognized Takashi, who was sitting near the back of the room and across the table from the door where she was, and quickly grabbed the seat on his right. Sitting down, she said hello to him and put down her YukimiBotamon partner on the table.

"Oh, hi." Takashi replied quickly but somewhat startled, as if he had been snapped out of concentrating on something.

"What were you doing?" Keiko asked him when she realized that she had distracted him somehow.

"Meh, just thinking about the game, I suppose."

"What part of it? The part where you found out your mentor really was T.K.?"

Takashi shrugged and looked at his Poyomon, now chatting with Keiko's YukimiBotamon. "I guess ... a little bit." he answered casually.

"Oh, well I suppose the fact that the Digimon won 3-2 doesn't really change that?"

"No. Not really." Takashi was bored with the conversation being centered around him and decided to ask Keiko about her Digimon. "What about your Digimon? How did your parents react to your partner?"

Keiko's face lit up. "Oh, they absolutely **love** my partner. They say it reminds them of a teddy bear!" She looked over at her partner as Takashi chuckled at the mental picture Keiko was painting.

"Well, your Digimon partner **is **cute, but do you know who you should mentor with because of that?" Takashi asked after the giggles subsided.

"No. I wish I did." she replied sadly.

"Do you know who your partner is supposed to link to?"

Keiko thought for a moment. "I don't... think so..."

"Well from what I heard from Noriko about the email, it's supposed to be Kari."

"Kari?" Keiko exclaimed in surprise. "But isn't she already doing Noriko?"

"Not really. She says Kari's just the assistant; it's Matt she's really partnered with."

"But I don't want to push my way into..."

"I don't think it would be a problem." Takashi replied. "I'm sure she would understand if you asked."

"But I don't want to..." Keiko gave a pleading look; she was afraid of reopening all those bad memories in Kari and her Digimon as well as she herself, and her expression clearly showed it.

"You won't know until you try." Takashi replied in a reassuring voice, tweaking out a small smile.

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Keiko smirked, but before she could object verbally she was interrupted by the sudden noise of loud TV static. Both she and Takashi, along with the rest of the kids and Digimon present, immediately turned their attention to the front of the room, where Kari was turning down the TV volume to a more comfortable listening level.

She smirked as she looked back at the watching children. "Sorry about that." she apologized. "Ken and I want you all to watch this video we all prepared for you guys." She inserted a recorded videotape, pressed the play button on the VCR part, and sat down in a chair beside the TV, holding the remote in her hands.

The tape began to play with a low hum, and the audio began to fade into somber, quiet music. A voice-over played after a few seconds, done (as Keiko later confirmed) by Sora: "December 31st, 2003... is a day that will live forever in the minds and hearts of everyone listening to this right now."

Keiko became increasingly somber as the video continued. The music, now quietly playing in the background, was now covered by another voiceover by Yolei, and as it began playing images began appearing slide-show style on the screen:

"Everyone who was in the battle has been hurt in one way or another. Most of you have lost your innocence..."A picture of Noriko giving a hurt look into the camera appeared on the screen.

"... some of us have had old wounds reopened..." The picture cut to a composite of two pictures, the one in the upper left showing Gatomon, set with the dark cliffs of the damaged Digiworld in the background, on the verge of bursting into tears, and the lower right picture showing Ken looking up and to the right with a tear-streaked face and sad mood.

"... all of us are angry..." The picture cut to another composite, this one of several angry faces made towards the camera by various older kids: T.K., Kari, Davis and Ken amongst them.

"... and one almost lost everything." The screen now showed a picture of the butterfly flock Oikawa had become after his "death", and in the lower right corner an inset picture showed the human form of Oikawa, apparently taken from a personal or police photograph that the older kids had somehow found.

The screen flashed to Kari and Ken, standing together on the screen in what looked like Kari's bedroom. "It would be very easy for us to live in our despair," Ken stated, "and tear ourselves down in our sorrows."

"But," Kari stated on the video, "we are determined not to let that happen to us... or you. That's why we started these meetings: to rebuild hope in not just us, but in you as well. And what you have done has shown us we are correct in our decision."

The music instantly changed to a happy, upbeat melody as various pictures of the former Spore Kids flashed slideshow style onto the screen. They were accompanied by Kari's voice continuing as a voiceover: "Over the past few weeks, each and everyone of you has shown you are willing to fight this depressive spiral, to continue to enjoy life even in the face of the horrors you have seen. This makes us happy as much as it does you, for it shows us that you all have the same traits we do: courage, friendship, love, knowledge, sincerity, reliability, hope, light and kindness."

The screen immediately cut to video footage from the baseball game played the previous day, and as Takashi's homerun replayed on the screen, Matt began to speak in a voiceover: "We have all seen horrible things and had horrible, terrible thoughts, but we can't let us or you be overcome by the past. That's part of the reason we are doing this: to help you, to share our sorrows and joys together, to pull closer this chosen group and make it stronger on the inside so that it can be stronger against those that would try to destroy it, regardless of the method."

The screen now cut to Ken, talking alone into the camera: "We would encourage each and every one of you to find one of us older Digidestined, to find someone you can learn from, someone you can trust, someone you can be friends with. It is the best way to let us help you in this new venture and new world. In the mean time, please continue to enjoy our meetings and do keep in contact with us. If you want it, you will be given a list of all our phone numbers and email addresses, just so that you can have someone to talk to if you need it. Remember, we will always have a listening ear if you feel you need one. Thank you and enjoy the upcoming activity."

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The music faded out, and the TV went to blue screen. Kari quickly stopped the tape and let it rewind. She smiled and said, "Would everyone please follow me out into the kitchen. The owners are friends of Joe's parents, and have allowed us to make and bake our own treats! Grab your Digimon partner and any recipes that you brought and exit out through the door to the kitchen." As Kari finished, Gatomon, who had been politely standing by, pushed the door into the kitchen open and the kids immediately rushed for the door, excited by the prospect of making edible treats for themselves.

Kari watched the kids stream into the kitchen with a satisfied look... until Gatomon, still holding the door open, pointed back in the direction of the table. Kari turned to find Keiko still sitting in chair, nervously fidgeting and squirming in her seat as she stared back up at them in a smirking manner, unwilling to stand up but at the same time uncomfortable in staying in her seat. Keiko's partner turned to look at Kari, completely confused as to what to do.

Even though she figured it was an understatement, Kari asked the question anyway: "Is something wrong?"

Keiko's cheeks, already a bright pink, flushed red as she murmured something about not having a recipe with her.

"But they have recipes already, so that shouldn't be a problem." Kari replied in confusion. Keiko smirked again, and averted her gaze from Kari's. The latter immediately guessed that something else was the root problem and decided to try another approach.

"Is there something else bothering you? Something concerning us?" Kari asked.

Keiko sighed heavily before replying hesitantly "I don't know... maybe something with you..."

"...Related to Digimon?" Kari finished the sentence.

The younger girl looked up in surprise. "How did you know?"

"It was an easy guess. All the older kids got copies of the identification mail sent to us by Gennai, which we then passed on to you guys. Besides, I figured only one thing could make you squirm like you are right now." Kari's twinkle of a smile made Keiko stop fidgeting and wish she could disappear into her chair.

Keiko looked straight at Kari with a look that made it clear she didn't want to hurt her by bringing up the old memories, even unintentionally. Kari gently replied to this look "It's all right. I want to help you, and usually by letting feelings be expressed, they are usually less of a problem than if than if they are kept bottled inside you."

Keiko gave a confused look; she didn't quite understand. Kari smiled and leaned down to meet her on her eye level. Kari then said "It's all right to tell the secrets that are hurting or have hurt you."

Keiko's expression slowly changed to one of only vague understanding. Kari stood up and beckoned her in the direction of the door. "Come on, let's get making something." the older Digidestined said.

Keiko gave something like a shrugging motion and got up from the seat, scooping up her partner in the process. She followed Kari and Gatomon through the door and into the kitchen...

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Keiko, Kari and Gatomon arrived in the kitchen to see it in a state of controlled chaos: a din of noise composed of various requests and questions, kids and Digimon shuffling around either delivering various items to assigned "cooking stations" or getting same items for delivery. Kari quickly spotted an open station and quickly led Keiko and Gatomon to it. Keiko looked around as Kari and Gatomon got various kitchen utensils for them to use: To her left, she saw Matt and Noriko at a mixing station, Matt nervously eying the mixer and Noriko puzzling over why Matt was afraid to use the mixer. Down at the right end, she saw T.K. helping Takashi make bread rolls, and behind her Sora was showing Hiroshi how to use various flavorings the bakery had in stock.

Keiko turned to look at Kari as she assembled some of the ingredients needed. "Do you have something in mind that you would like to make?" Kari said loudly, so that she could be heard over the kitchen din. Keiko just shrugged her shoulders in response; she didn't have anything particular in mind when she came in here, she just wanted to make something.

"Well, I brought a recipe to make something like anpan, only in a bar cookie shape." Kari stated. "Do you want to try that?" Keiko nodded, as anpan (a Japanese treat consisting of sweet bread filled with red bean paste) was one of her favorite foods.

"Good. Could you get me the bean paste please?" Kari asked. Keiko immediately shuffled off, found the bucket containing the bean paste and brought it over to their station.

"Alright. Now pay attention as I mix up the ingredients for the sweet bread..." Kari said to Keiko as the former read off the card that had been brought and began to follow its directions. Keiko watched in amazement at Kari's apparent skill in baking.

When asked about it, Kari replied, "Well, sometimes my mom likes to experiment and she's not particularly good at cooking, so both my brother and I have learned quickly to make our own meals as a backup plan."

Keiko giggled and nodded at her. She leaned in and watched in fascination... until something splattered on the back of her head. She turned in surprise to receive another splatter in the face. It turned out that over in the next station Matt had started the mixer but at a far too fast speed and as a result various ingredients were being splattered every which way. Matt, Noriko, Gabumon and Noriko's Punimon had already scattered to prevent from being covered in batter, and the mixer was now generously spewing out half-mixed ingredients as it spun out of control.

Kari, using her left arm to shield her face, quickly reached over and turned the mixer off. Though there was no more splattering, everything within a six-foot radius had been blasted with bits and pieces of various ingredients. The bakery owners looked from the main door shaking their heads and the rest of the kitchen erupted in giggles as red-faced Matt bustled himself, Gabumon, Noriko and Noriko's Punimon out to the washroom. Keiko immediately noticed both she and Kari were also covered in splatters and that her YukimiBotamon had apparently disappeared.

"Hey, partner, where'd ya go?" Keiko asked as she looked around. She caught glimpses of Kari beckoning her to the washroom to get cleaned up as well.

The sudden jolt of the bucket gave Keiko her answer, for as she peered inside she found her partner, apparently having jumped into the bucket to avoid the splatters, now half covered in bean paste! Exasperated, Keiko lifted her partner out of the bucket, then followed Kari into the washroom.

There she found both Gatomon and Matt's group already at work. Matt's group was using one of the two big sinks, Matt grumbling under his breath and arguing with Gabumon about the necessity of taking his fur coat off to clean it while also trying to clean himself and Noriko at the same time. Keiko also noticed Gatomon quietly trying to lick herself clean (though her mean glare in Keiko's direction kept questions from asked). Keiko immediately positioned herself so that Kari could hose her down while Keiko could clean her partner at the same time. Though it was wet and messy work, seeing Matt wet and arguing with Gabumon allowed both girls a laugh at their expense. Matt glared and raspberried at them several times, but in the end was left to reappear soaked and mad while Kari and Keiko reappeared soaked and unable to stop laughing.

As Matt tried with some dignity to gather a new set of ingredients (despite the persistent chuckles of the others), Kari finished mixing the still-usable mixture in their recipe and told Keiko to grab a rectangular pan. After she did that, she helped Kari spread a layer on the bottom of the pan using part of the sweet bread batter, then did the same for the bean paste (despite the fact that it turned their hands red and gleefully caused them to give each other "pimples") and finally another top layer of the sweet bread.

While Kari gave their treat to the bakery owners to supervise baking, Keiko cleaned off her face and joined the other kids back in the "training room", where the TV cart had apparently been removed and replaced with several pieces of furniture that appeared old and well-worn. Though neither Keiko nor any of the other kids knew the reason for the furniture being there, they had a good time speculating about it...

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About 15 minutes after Keiko had sat down at the same table where she had viewed the video before, several of the older kids entered carrying hot trays of various baked goodies, including the anpan-like bar cookies. These were placed on the old table on the stage, and two or three of the older kids took "snack orders" from the younger kids. After that was done, the younger kids watched as snacks were sliced, assembled and delivered. Considering how much she saw her snack being sliced up and delivered, she guessed it was a big hit and after she got to eat a piece herself, she was proven to be right. Indeed several other kids gave the anpan bars rave reviews right to her, which boosted her confidence to a great degree and made her feel the time and hassle spent in the kitchen well worth it. But something even better was not long in coming...

As the last of the snacks were being eaten, the trays were taken back into the kitchen and the older kids took seats in the back of the room – all except Tai, Kari and their Digimon, who instead went back onto the stage and looked over the furniture. Keiko wondered why they were doing this; she suspected an act that they weren't supposed to know was an act.

"What's our furniture doing here?" Kari asked Tai, apparently spontaneously (but Keiko thought it was part of the act).

"Well, we have no use for it, and I thought it would be good to see if the younger children's families had any use for them."Tai replied, again in a way that made Keiko suspect an act.

"But Tai, this stuff is old, the paint's peeling, it's all dinged up and stained, there's no way anyone would want this stuff!"

"What do we do with it then? It was a pain enough just getting it here, and I don't want to have to take it all back."

"I know what we can do!" Gatomon exclaimed. Before anyone could object, she delivered a karate chop smash to one of the legs, knocking off the bottom part of the leg with a snap and causing the now-unbalanced table to tilt in the direction of the broken leg.

If the younger kids weren't paying attention to that already, they were now. All eyes (including Keiko's) grew wide and were riveted in the direction of the stage. Astonished, the others on stage backed away as Gatomon knocked off part of another leg, then leapt up and smashed through the table top itself, splintering it into several pieces. Several more hits later and the table was a splintered pile of kindling.

Mouths dropped open all over the room. Tai, Kari and Agumon just stood blinking on stage. "But it was still usable!" Tai objected.

"It's old and stained and tacky, just like everything else on this stage." Gatomon said in an "I don't care" attitude. She then went over to the tall lamp nearby and smashed into the stand, bending and weakening the metal. Seconds later, the stand buckled and the lamp crashed down on the stage.

She then went over to an old dresser, knocking into a side and splintering it, then pulling out the drawers and splitting through each of them, then entering in where the drawers had been and blasting through the top with one jump. She flipped in mid-air and finished the "combo" with a smash in the back. The unstable piece of furniture fell forward and crashed on the stage, now also little more than kindling for a fire.

Tai ran forward and tried to stop her "destructive rampage", but she jumped away from his grab, causing Tai to fall face first onto the stage floor. Agumon ran forward to try the same thing, but Gatomon turned to face him with both her eyes and tail ring glowing pink. Agumon stopped cold when eye contact was made.

As Kari helped Tai to his feet, Gatomon commanded the controlled Agumon to leave the stage, which Agumon immediately did, making the already blown-away audience even more so. Gatomon quickly turned to Tai and did the same thing: make eye contact and give the order to leave the stage. Tai did this as well, and kids watched riveted as he went and sat down in an empty seat in the back of the room, with Agumon already back there.

Gatomon turned and did the same pink flashing of eyes and tail ring to Kari. "Go get that drink of sewer water in the kitchen refrigerator." was the command this time. Kari nodded and went into the kitchen. Many had their looks transfixed to the door wondering what would happen next, some gave gross looks at the prospect of sewer water as a drink and some looked over at Gatomon wondering if they would be next. But Keiko was enjoying and mental noting every second of it, particularly the moment Gatomon briefly looked over at the younger kids' table with her eyes and ring still glowing that pink color, which caused some of the more skittish kids to jump in their chairs.

Kari returned holding a tall, narrow glass containing a light-brown colored liquid and dark solids floating up and down in it. Keiko could feel the kids grossing out around her, but before she could begin explaining what the "sewer water" really was, Gatomon commanded Kari to drink the liquid inside the glass.

The kids immediately erupted in a chorus of "ewww!", "gross!" and "yuck!" as Kari drank the liquid down and placed the empty glass on the nightstand, the only undestroyed peace of future. Kari stepped away from the table as Gatomon now focused her control gaze on the empty glass.

She slowly raised a paw up while focused on the glass... and the glass slowly rose from the table! Jaws dropped open, and as the younger kids watched, Gatomon commanded, using motions from her paws, the glass to move left and right slightly in mid-air, then do a complete flip and finally slowly land back on the table. Kari went back to Gatomon's side and, apparently for flourish, Gatomon gave a psychic push that caused the glass to go flying toward the back wall and shatter on the floor with a sound that glued all of the younger kids to their seats.

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Keiko and the other kids looked at each other, not sure whether to be scared stiff or giving a standing ovation. While they did this, several of the older kids got up and grabbed gloves to help with clean up while Tai and Agumon also returned to the stage and looked on in affirmation as Gatomon, all smiles but slightly worn out by the mental exertion, leapt into Kari's arms.

Kari looked over the blown away younger kids with an understanding smile. She said, "Yes, I expected this reaction: surprise, confusion, maybe a little fear. But she does not use the powers, great as they are, indiscriminately. We knew powers like this existed, but until recently we did not know the true extent of those powers. As you can guess, these things can be too easily used for bad, and for much of the time her powers were crippled by the fact that she was missing her tail ring." Gatomon flickered her tail out in front of her in order for the younger kids to better see what Kari was talking about.

Kari continued: "But even without those unfortunate truths, she didn't like to use those kinds of powers until now, and the reason why is one that you may already know. Do any of you remember what happened 4 1/2 years ago?"

Several kids immediately leapt out of their seats, half-shouting about older brothers and sisters that had been captured and been put to sleep, though all of them claimed that they were too young back then to have remembered. At least one kid said that only because of being Digidestined that they were able to believe those events being possible.

Keiko looked around as mental lightbulbs went on in most of the other kids, including herself. She bet that this group were involved in the older incident as well, and she was sure that this was going through the minds of most of the group at the table.

"If you're thinking that she is related to those incidents, you would be right. All of us are, in fact." Kari stated as Ken rolled the TV/VCR combo back onto the now-clean stage. He plugged it in, turned it on, inserted a videotape (a different one than before) and pressed play. The video showed old news footage depicting the chaotic weather of that year, then the monster attacks, then the fog barrier. Following this came several home video movies showing the chaos inside the convention center as people were being rounded up and kids torn away from parents.

The screen suddenly went black and "But there's more to the story..." appeared in white letters on the screen as the same sad music from the first video began to play. Several kid drawings appeared slide-show style on the screen, each one centering on a cat that looked amazingly like Gatomon. As the sad music continued, the scene changed to a short video of Gatomon crying, then to pained expressions from Kari and Tai, then at Agumon looking from the door in sympathy. The video immediately cut to Tai, sitting in a chair and barely able to control his emotions. On the video, Tai gave his testimony, "I... couldn't believe, maybe didn't want to believe, I don't know. She... just seemed so evil, I didn't want to think she could ever be good."

The video flipped to Agumon, doing what Tai had been doing before: "I... didn't know what to think, I just did what I thought Tai wanted me to do. I didn't see the real bad guy was not the Digimon in front of me."

The video went black again, and more white words appeared on the screen: "She was not the first, but definitely one of the most tragic of the victims of Myotismon." The crying Gatomon video appeared again, this time with purple-colored text over it: "She was forced to do his every command, fight against those who she was supposed to fight with, and ordered to find and destroy her very own human partner."

The video switched again, this to several Digimon displayed in succession with more purple colored text over it: "The price of her freedom was that of her best friend's life. He gave everything he had to set her free, and Myotismon was struck down as a result. But only now, after so much more pain has been afflicted, has justice finally been served."

The screen turned a magenta color, and various sound clips played: Myotismon's evil laugh, Gatomon crying, sounds of despair and desperation, and finally one last heart-wrenching cry: "WIZARDMON! NO!!!"

Immediately several kids started crying around her, and Keiko finally came to understand why she was as special as she was even as she too began crying; far from being left out on the margins, she now had personal access to what was a major emotional power source of the older kids: the combined agony of Gatomon and Ken at being merely used as Myotismon's tools. This was most of the reason these meetings were happening: to allow this hurt to be used for benefit of others while at the same time helping to reduce the horrible pain everyone was going through.

Though heavily weighed down by the sadness, Keiko's spirit flashed a pride derived from this sad specialness. She looked toward Kari and Gatomon, who had retreated to a corner and were holding each other to prevent crying, and tweaked a smile in that direction. Though she wasn't sure it was seen, the sudden warming of her heart seemed to indicate that it was felt by the badly hurt Digimon and human partner.

She returned her gaze to the screen just in time to see the following message: "You have been invited to come with us to the Fuji TV station for a special tour and ceremony. Please exit one at a time out front and wait for further instructions."

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Keiko wasn't initially sure what to make of the message, but as she saw the other kids somberly begin to file out of the room, she was compelled not to follow them. Instead, she scooped up her Digimon partner and weaved and dodged by the other kids toward the stage. Noriko and Takashi recognized her, but could only stare confused back toward her as they filed out.

Keiko leapt up on the stage and looked around for the corner Kari and Gatomon had moved to. Ken, who was wheeling the cart back out, briefly looked back in surprise but then turned back to his work smiling because of the apparent show of connection that has resulted, making the day so far a success...

Keiko quickly noticed where Kari and Gatomon were and raced over, dropping to one knee in front of them and releasing her partner. She saw the pain, and wanted to prevent her partner from ever going through the pain Kari's partner went through. Keiko stared straight at Gatomon, making understanding clear with expressions and actions what Keiko was reluctant to say: a smile, a gentle sweep behind the ears, a stroking of the same paws that seemed to hold such power but were afraid to use it. Gatomon smiled through her wet eyes, and Keiko instantly knew that she had found her mentor...

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4:30pm, Fuji TV building...

Keiko stood impatiently near the back of the lobby. She craned forward to see Matt and Ken talking with the desk clerk about whether they would be permitted to enter the building proper. Even in the business and bustle, Keiko could see Kari and Gatomon in a corner, still sober and looking like they were preparing for something. She had ridden with them to the TV station, and noticed this then as well. She wondered what exactly was going to happen while they were here...

"Hey, Keiko, any idea what they're doing?" Noriko asked, standing beside her in watching Kari. Keiko shrugged, as she was clueless as Noriko was.

"Come on guys! We're gonna leave without you!" Hiroshi yelled, pointing back to the departing crowd. Both Keiko and Noriko nodded, grabbed their respective Digimon partners and ran to catch up with the rest of the crowd. However, Keiko looked back and saw Kari and Gatomon still in contemplative moods as they too went to catch up with the crowd.

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5:30 pm, top of Fuji TV building

Keiko had taken in the whirlwind tour of the station lead by Matt's dad with as much interest as the other kids, but recording studios and broadcast centers were obscured in her mind by curiosity about why Kari and Gatomon were still so sober. Now with daylight almost gone and the air growing very chilly, they had been lead through a door marked "Staff Only" and taken an elevator to the very top of the building. There, briefly walking out into the January chill, they had been lead into the building's sphere, a landmark of the building and Odaiba skyline but looking lonely and cold surrounded by the artificial lighting. Matt's dad opened a door that lead to the inside of the sphere.

As Keiko entered, she saw the other kids fanning out according to directions provided by the older kids. Matt's dad nodded to the two employees at the weather monitor computer terminal in the dome, who first gave him looks of disbelief, then bemusement, then finally just laughed it off and went back to work.

The only other thing that seemed to be in the dome was what looked like a little shrine. Keiko cautiously approached it and read off the writing on the stone:

**This monument is for the best friend a Digital Monster could ever have.**

**May he never be forgotten.**

**Set up this day, October 1st, 2003**

**By those who he saved.**

**Dedicated by Hikari Kamiya and Gatomon.**

**Monument was commissioned by Yumato Ishida August 15th, 2003**

Keiko quickly backed away as Kari and Gatomon approached the monument, quickly followed by Tai and Agumon as well as T.K., Patamon, Ken and Wormmon. All of the kids, as well as Gatomon and Agumon, kneeled in front of the shrine, Kari and Gatomon in the center. Keiko felt it was respectful to kneel as well, so she did just that. She noticed all the other older kids and their Digimon, as well as most of the younger kids, bow their heads.

After a minute's silence, Gatomon began to sing out as her eyes again filled with tears:

"I'm forgiven because you were forsaken / I'm accepted, you were condemned / I'm alive and well, your spirit is with me / Because you died for me, your friend."

Keiko listened on, and finally knew why she was here, why they were all here, why they would all fight to prevent beings as evil as Myotismon from ever being able to cause such pain again...

"Amazing love, how can it be / That you should die for me/ Amazing love, I know it's true / It's my joy to honor you / In all I do, I'll honor you..."

**The End**


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